Last updated: 28 October 2026
Chloe Barnes is the South-East London artist and printmaker who won Sky Portrait Artist of the Year 2025 with a monotype of Brian Cox. Here you will find our take on her work, where to see Chloe Barnes now, how to buy her monotypes, and her small piece in this year’s War Child auction.
Our take on Chloe Barnes
Barnes makes monotypes: she paints in ink on a plate, then prints it once, so every piece is unique and nothing can be corrected. Her subject is the body, and what feelings do to it. “Each monotype or painting begins with a feeling, which I follow freely through a fast and unpredictable process of painting and printing,” she writes in the statement on her website. As a result, smears and bleeds stay in the finished work.
Her War Child piece, Take Flight, is a black and white monotype mounted on panel. A woman bends forward from the hips, with her long dark hair falling over her face. Both arms are flung up and back, and the hands are just a few quick marks. On the right, a dark sweep of ink rises like a shadow or a second figure. Overall, it looks dashed off in seconds, which is the point.
She has had a big year. “I fell in love with monoprinting during my undergraduate Illustration degree,” she told UWE Bristol after her Sky Arts win. Since then she has painted Professor Hannah Fry for the Royal Society and joined Julian Page, so this is a timely moment to bid on a small original.
Chloe Barnes: the essentials
- Based in South-East London, where she works from Thames-Side Studios.
- Studied at the University of the West of England, Bristol: BA Illustration (First, 2019) and MA Multi-Disciplinary Printmaking (Distinction, 2023). In 2026 she took the Drawing Intensive at the Royal Drawing School.
- Won Sky Arts Portrait Artist of the Year 2025, the first printmaker to do so, according to UWE Bristol. Her final portrait was of the actor Brian Cox.
- The prize was a £10,000 Royal Society commission to portray Professor Hannah Fry, which became the first monotype in the Society’s portrait collection, according to Julian Page.
- Other honours include the RBS Hahnemühle Fine Art Award (2023), an a-n Freelands Foundation grant (2025) and a Hesketh Hubbard bursary. She was a finalist for the Margate Art Prize in 2023, judged by Tracey Emin.
- Represented by Julian Page since March 2026. Her work is in the collections of Pallant House Gallery, the New York Public Library and the Royal Society.
Where to see Chloe Barnes now
- Coming up: Sound & Vision 2026, a War Child charity auction online from 27 October to 12 November 2026, with the works on view at Iconic Images Gallery, London, 6 to 8 November. The piece is Take Flight (2026), monotype on paper on panel, 15 x 21 cm (5.9 x 8.3 in), lot page.
- Coming up: Imprint Art Fair, the London fair for original print, Lawrence Hall, London, 29 October to 1 November 2026 (listed on her own CV).
- Misfits (group, with Phyllida Barlow, Peter Doig, Bridget Riley and others), Julian Page Projects, 10 June to 8 August 2026.
- Her portrait of Professor Hannah Fry on display at the Royal Society, London, 15 to 19 December 2025, according to UWE Bristol.
How to buy a Chloe Barnes monotype
Every Chloe Barnes monotype is a one-off, so there are no editions. Here is how to buy one:
- Take Flight, 2026: a small monotype on paper on panel in the War Child Sound & Vision auction, bidding from £100 until 12 November 2026 (bid here).
- Monotypes and paintings: through Julian Page, which lists recent works including her Flower Studies series, price on request.
Chloe Barnes FAQs
Did Chloe Barnes win Portrait Artist of the Year?
Yes. She won Sky Arts Portrait Artist of the Year 2025 with a monotype portrait of Brian Cox, and the prize was a Royal Society commission to portray Professor Hannah Fry.
What is a monotype?
A print made by painting ink onto a plate and pressing it onto paper once. Each one is unique, and the printed image comes out mirrored.
Which gallery represents Chloe Barnes?
Julian Page, which announced her representation in March 2026.
Where can I see Chloe Barnes’s work in London?
Her War Child piece, Take Flight, is on view at Iconic Images Gallery from 6 to 8 November 2026.
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- Gifts for artists: our edit of presents for people who make things.
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Main image: Chloe Barnes beside one of her monotypes. Courtesy the artist. Cropped and framed by CoolCuration. Exhibition dates, prices, auction results and market figures last checked: 28 October 2026.
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